Engaging the Media

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Engaging the Media
IEEE Sections Congress 2008

• 21 September 2008

Marsha Longshore - Senior Manager IEEE Corporate
Strategy and Communications Emily Mason
Management Supervisor Ruder Finn
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Who am I?

• IEEE Corporate Communications Senior Manager
  internal and external and executive
  communications Specialize in corporate strategy
  and communications, and public relations
• 13 years with IEEE 23 years in Public Relations
• Member of IEEE Ad Hoc Public Visibility Committee
  and staff Co-lead for 125th anniversary
• IEEE Operations Center,
• Piscataway, New Jersey

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Who am I?

• Management supervisor technology and consumer
  public relations specialize in media relations
  and special events
• Two years with Ruder Finn eight years in Public
  Relations
• Ruder Finn Chicago a global marketing services
  agency
• First time speaker at IEEE Sections Congress

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Tell Us About You

• Where are you from?
• Have you worked with the media before?
• What was the experience like?
• Were there any challenges you faced when working
  with the press? What challenges did you face?
• Was there anything that made you uncomfortable
  while speaking with the media?

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Todays Media Training Session

• Our agenda
• Provide an overview of how to get started in
  developing a publicity plan
• Cover basic media relations strategies
• Discuss how to market your Section to media
  outlets
• Address how to successfully engage the media
• Provide tips for how to generate positive media
  coverage for IEEE and your section
• Real World Scenarios Putting all our learnings
  to work

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Todays Media Training Session

• Your Agenda
• How to better prepare for broadcast interview

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Determine Publicity Objectives

• What do you want to accomplish?
• Increase member participation
• Heighten non-member participation
• Grow membership
• Build industry support
• Create general awareness of how engineers and
  technology professionals impact society
• Gain recognition as a technology or engineering
  expert
• Others?

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Identify Your Target Audience

• Decide who you want to reach
• Members
• Prospective members
• Students
• Professionals / people in industry
• General public
• Media (local newspapers, TV, radio)
• Businesses
• Government

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Create a Publicity Plan

• Plan events and activities for IEEE that will
  generate media interest, reach your target
  audience and accomplish your objectives
• Develop key messages
• Designate a spokesperson for media inquiries
• Prepare a list of reporters in your local area
• Create a media advisory and news release
• Set-up interviews and place your activities into
  radio, television and cable community calendars

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What Do Reporters Really Want?

• Newsworthy recent events or happenings
• Timing
• Significance Whats the hook?
• Proximity
• Prominence
• Human interest

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Media Hooks

• Lets review some good and bad media hooks
• Launching a new Section Web site
• Section member meeting announcing new officers
• Speaker discussing new technologies in event that
  is open to the public
• Local awards ceremony for Section volunteerism
• Local awards ceremony with industry support
• Career Day at local high school
• Sponsored student competition

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Use the 125th Anniversary to Attract Media and
Members

• Every IEEE activity or event in 2009 is a
  potential anniversary event.
• To attract both the media and members you can
  plan something special or add a celebration to
  a scheduled activity
• Tie into the theme Celebrating 125 years of
  Engineering the Future
• Celebrate any time or on IEEEs 125th Anniversary
  day on 13 May 2009 IEEE Engineering the Future
  Day.

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Attracting Media Attention

• Section Celebration of IEEEs 125th Anniversary
  on 13 May 2009
• Provides a news hook that honors a significant
  milestone
• Shines a spotlight on the local activities of a
  global, historic non-profit organization
• Offers timing, significance, proximity,
  prominence and a good human interest story
• Engineering the Future Day promotes
  world-changing technologies- consider finding a
  local hot technology to highlight.

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Attracting Media Attention

• Highlight a particular member accomplishment(s)
• Open-to the-public lecture with high profile
  speaker (Ex. member of ministry or local
  government)
• Community outreach activities supporting local
  universities
• Career fairs
• Technology courses for seniors
• Computer recycling programs for local public
  schools
• Invite popular local business leaders to speak at
  an event
• Sponsor a contest in local public schools with a
  technology or engineering theme
• IEEE Milestone dedication
• Additional ideas?

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Creating Key Messages

• Key messages describe news in a very succinct and
  understandable form
• Elevator speech or pitch 10 seconds to describe
  what you are doing
• Message one Address the quality of the event
• Message two Delve into the workings of the
  event, activity or organization
• Message three Tell us about your audience
• Not all of these messages will apply in every
  situation
• Where possible use numbers and facts
• Rehearse

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IEEE Messages

• IEEE is the worlds largest technical
  professional association
• IEEE serves more than 375,000 individual members
  in 160 countries
• A non-profit organization with a worldwide
  network dedicated to the advancement of
  technology and the technology community
• IEEE fosters technological innovation and
  excellence for the benefit of humanity
• Through conferences, publications and industry
  standards
• and by helping members develop professionally

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125th Anniversary Key Messages

• In 2009, IEEE will commemorate 125 years of
  advancing technology for the public good, through
  a year full of activities surrounding the
  anniversary theme, Celebrating 125 years of
  Engineering the Future
• The anniversary is an opportunity for key
  audiences to learn more about IEEE, contributions
  of engineering, computing and technology
  professions, emerging innovations and how IEEE
  will continue to foster technological
  advancements for the benefit of humanity
• The yearlong celebration ranges from volunteer
  planned events and IEEE sponsored activities to a
  global Engineering the Future special observance
  on 13 May 2009 IEEEs official Anniversary

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The Role of the Spokesperson

• Who will speak with the media on behalf of your
  Section?
• Person familiar with your section activities
• General understanding of the news media
• An individual with a media presence /
  confidence
• Understanding your role as spokesperson
• Basic IEEE and Section statistics
• Local contributions your sections has made to the
  community
• Predetermined key messages
• Stay with FACTS. Stay away from opinion.

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Preparing the Media List

• Determine the media groups
• Use the phone book, Internet and other resources
  to locate the appropriate contact information
• Call each media contact
• Compile a comprehensive list of your findings
• Be prepared to update your media list every six
  months

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Identify the Local Reporters

• Understand journalist beats
• Technology/Science
• Education
• Calendar
• City
• Photo
• Society
• Health
• News assignment
• Online editor
• Familiarize yourself with the reporters
  articles try to build a relationship
• Personally invite the reporter to attend local
  meetings that include technology-based
  presentations

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Targeting The Right Media
Examples may include

• India
• Times of India
• Hindustan Times
• The Hindu

Japan Nihon Keizai Shimbun Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun
Dempa Times
United States Chicago Sun-Times Atlanta-Journal
Constitution Local ABC Affiliate
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How to Provide Reporters with What they Need

• Community Calendar announcement
• 5ws - who, what, where, when, who/how to contact
• Media Alert
• Same information -- Serves as invitation to news
  media
• Ask them to RSVP and follow up with them
• Also send to the newspaper or TV stations News
  Desk day book
• No more than one page
• Establish templates or utilize templates from the
  Promotion and Planning Action Plan located at
  www.IEEE125.org to meet the local medias
  requirements

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How to Provide Reporters with What they Need
continued

• News release
• Short and to the point
• Use active headlines
• Most important information first (5 Ws)
• Consider including a quote that adds information
  or positioning
• Use statistics to grab attention
• Avoid acronyms explain tech terms
• Include the IEEE boilerplate paragraph - with a
  sentence about your Section
• Include a contact
• Consider a photo caption release for event follow
  up

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How to Get Journalists to Your Event

• Follow up with the media to secure their interest
  in your event
• Abide by their rules
• Ask if he/she had a chance to look through your
  press materials, and what he/she thinks
• Give your 10 second elevator speech/pitch
• Ask about his/her interest in the story
• Coordinate an interview
• Live or taped
• Length
• Media contact cell phone
• Interview details and potential questions
• When it will air

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Tips for Media Interviews

• Have copies of your news release, agenda and
  other program materials to give to the media
• Remember an interview is a conversation, not a
  speech
• Discuss your key messages in order of importance
• Speak slowly, carefully and in a confident voice
• Always give more than a yes or no response
• Know when to stop
• Be prepared for a reporter who isnt
• Emphasize the positive
• Do not let a reporter lead you to a
  view/perspective you do not agree with stick to
  your message

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Tips for Media Interviews continued

• Pose questions of the interviewer to get a feel
  for where s/he may be coming from or angles s/he
  may be working
• Speak plainly and carefully
• Speak using familiar terms not industry jargon
  unless it is an approved trade journalist
• If you do not have the answer, say so, but you
  may want to offer to find it out
• At the end of the interview, repeat your key
  message
• Expect repeated questions
• Most of allrelax, be yourself and enjoy!

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Blocking and Bridging

• Blocking To interrupt the question from going
  further or putting a stop to the question being
  asked
• Bridging To create a transition back from an
  uncomfortable question while retaining control
  over the interview
• Blocking is when you acknowledge and answer the
  reporters question as quickly as possible and
  politely bridge to the key message you want to
  deliver

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Blocking and Bridging

• Typical blocking statements include
• The overall issue is
• What is important to remember
• People need to understand
• What I think you are really asking is
• What I can tell you about our recommendation is
• That's not my area of expertise, but I think your
  audience would be interested in knowing that
• That's an important point because
• If you look at it closely, you'll find

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Blocking and Bridging

• Typical bridging statements include
• And do not forget
• Look at it this way.
• What Id really like to emphasize is
• What is important to remember, however
• And
• But
• However

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Media Training Clip One
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Tips for Broadcast Interviews

• Be concise and get your message up front
• If you make a mistake during a taped interview,
  stop and start over it can be edited
• Make sure your story is visual
• Avoid verbal gestures such as um and well
• If you dont have the answer say, Let me do a
  little research and Ill get back to you
• Remain seated at the end of the interview until
  the interviewer tells you that you are off the
  air
• Avoid wearing white, royal blue, patterns, gold
  and black

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Body Language

• Eye contact - look at the reporter, not the
  camera
• Sit forward if you are in a chair
• Smile
• Be enthusiastic
• Appear interested

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Media Training Clip Two
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After the Interview

• Offer to be available for any follow up
• Say thank you often
• Fulfill promises made during the interview
• Critique your interview
• Be patient
• Track placements and media clips

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Important Reminders

• NOTHING is off the record, even if a reporter
  says it is
• A reporter's job is to print or report a story,
  once you say it, its part of the record
• NEVER say anything to a reporter you wouldnt
  want to see in print
• Assume everything you say will appear in print
• DO NOT ever say no comment
• If you dont know the answer, say that you will
  get back to them when you have more information
• Turn a bad question around by saying, Im not
  going to speculate, but what I can tell you is
• Stick with your message

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Important Reminders

• AVOID one word answers such as yes, no,
  correct, true, etc.
• Answer the question the best you can one word
  answers give the impression that you are not sure
  of your comments Try to provide a sound-bite
  they can use
• AVOID speculation and opinion
• Say to the reporter, I think that question is a
  little too broad, could you please narrow that
  down
• NEVER lie it will come back to haunt you
• Tell the reporter that you will research the
  question and get back to him/her. Follow up in a
  timely manner

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Important Reminders

• DO NOT talk about the interview until you have
  left the building
• You can become an eye-catching headline the
  story becomes about you and it can ruin your
  credibility
• RESTATE the question in the context of your
  answer
• Reporters aren't really looking for opportunities
  to take your quotes out of context but by
  reinstating the question, you avoid misquotes
• AVOID telling a reporter he/she is wrong
• Nicely block the message by saying, While I
  appreciate your position, and bridge the message
  to, the real truth is

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Media Training Clip Three
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Todays Media Landscape

• Work on short deadlines
• Are short staffed and stretched thin
• Do not have the resources, camera crews or staff
  to cover the stories they used to cover
• Plummeting newspaper circulations magazines
  closings
• Appreciate relationship building
• Understand that IEEE can be a good resource to
  them
• Do not underestimate the importance of social
  media

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Be Patient with Your Strategy

• All of these tactics can work together to help
  increase your visibility among your targeted
  audience(s)
• But, unlike advertising, there are no guarantees
  with public relations
• Be patient -- Building recognition and
  relationships with media takes time and a
  consistent approach

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Answering Reporters Questions and
Role-Playing Scenarios

• Breakout Session

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Key Takeaways

• Before engaging the media you should
• Determine what is news
• Understand your role as a representative for IEEE
  and your local Section
• Develop and learn your key messages
• Know the message you want to convey

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Key Takeaways

• When speaking with the media remember to
• Speak using familiar terms
• If you do not have the answer, say so, but you
  offer to find it out
• Repeat your key message at the end
• Never say anything off the record and never use
  the words no comment

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How We Can Help

• Online tools
• Planning and Promotional Action Pack
• www.ieee125.org
• Includes Anniversary Mark and Guidelines
• IEEE Master Brand Identity Standards
• www.ieee.org/identitystandards
• www.ieee.org/masterbrand
• Contact Corporate Communications or Ruder Finn
• Media requests
• Advice and counsel on PR questions
• Corporate-communications_at_ieee.org
• Masone_at_ruderfinn.com

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Questions?

• Thank You
• and
• Good Luck